House of Cards
by Shin-no-Nekochan
Summary: In the matter of my sons, remember this well: the woman does not matter except as Mother to each son, regardless of how many Mothers I support...Chief Sha. The story of two brothers, their mothers, & the father. [PlotHoleFiller,Smoke Signals,HintDokuKou]
1. Your Mother

_House of Cards_  
_Chapter One: Your Mother_

_A Story for the _Smoke Signals_ Thread_

By Nekochan

**Author's Note**

_While this story may seem pretty random when placed in context with the rest of _Smoke Signals_, it's an idea that's been floating around in my head for a long time now and just sort of came out after two nights of frustration this week. The most significant part to the series itself, in terms of plot-hole filler, will come in the third and final chapter._

_Arigatou Minasan! (Thanks everyone!)_

_Nekochan_

(-)(-)(-)

I know you don't remember it, Jien, but we used to be a happy family – a well-respected _youkai_, his young principal wife, and a little boy with great promise. Every day I'd go off with the others to fish at the river, bringing home at least a dozen a day. I can still remember the first time you skinned a fish all on your own – one that you caught all by yourself – because it's one of my fondest memories.

The day you were born is another. I'd already had to dismiss two wives back to their parents – and get a return on my bridewealth (1) – because they couldn't bear me any sons. Your mother was so proud that day, too, and she had every right to be – that was the day she earned her place as my principal wife. By giving birth to you, Jien, she ensured that I would forever take care of her as a mother to my son.

Then, years after you'd become the focus of my world, some humans settled nearby – a day's walk away. Since I had more than enough fish for my family and the other _youkai_ that I traded with in our own village, there was no reason I could see why I shouldn't trade with the humans as well, when they came looking for fresh fish. The only problem was that they traded for coins that only other humans accepted in trade for value, but that meant I could go to their town and buy their woolen blankets, rice, and fine alcohol.

I became well known in the town for my fishing prowess and my willingness to trade, since I had so much to trade with. The human town was so far away, though, that I had to fish early each morning and head straight to their town to provide **fresh** fish. It was nearly sunset by the time I was finished each time, so I started a two-day cycle – spending the night in the human town's tavern before bringing my traded goods home to my family the next morning.

A waitress in the tavern would show me to my room each night I stayed there and bring me breakfast each morning. Every time I came to that tavern, a bed was ready for me in the exact same room, my usual drink at the bar in my favorite spot on the corner, and I knew that **she** was the one who always did that for me. It was your mother's kindness that I fell in love with, Gojyo.

When I found out that she was pregnant, I made a promise to her, just as if she had been a _youkai_ woman from my village: if she gave birth to a boy, I would cover the expenses of her raising my son. I would do this so long as she kept his lineage a secret from the village. She didn't understand why, but I was all too aware of what would happen if **anyone** in the village understood the significance of red hair and red eyes – traits which I knew her child would bear regardless of gender.

But she bore me a son after all and I kept my promise to provide for her, as I would have any _youkai_ wife. Your mother was so sure that your red eyes would darken to brown like both of ours and that your red hair would turn dark auburn – a mesh of her mahogany and my jet – that I didn't bother to correct her. You were so young at the time that it was easy to hide you, Gojyo, because you really didn't need to leave your room – the room I always stayed in at the tavern.

How was I to know I'd be made the village chief not long afterwards? I had a house for my family then, with good beds and clothes and food. Your mother was never so happy, Jien, than when she was preparing to entertain her friends at our new home – even if that meant going out into the forest with you to gather fruit, a task she normally loathed.

The time I spent in the human town became less and less; I couldn't spend the night in town anymore, what with having a horse now to get me between the two villages – my old excuse of travel time no longer existed. Your mother grew sad, Gojyo, and she grew jealous; my wife was keeping closer tabs on where I was spending my money, not to mention questioning how much I spent on goods in the village versus how much made it to our doorstep. You were nearly two, Gojyo.

I guess your mother eventually figured out how important children were to me, Gojyo, because she was soon pregnant again. This time, she begged me to take her back to my village and make **her** my principal wife… if she bore me another son. We argued intensely about it and I came extremely close to telling her the secret about _hanyou_ children a number of times. It was always in the attempt to dissuade her from her lofty fantasies of being the wife of a village chief as if the _youkai_ wouldn't care that she was human.

I almost wish we'd come to a decision about it, that way your mother wouldn't have died wondering what would happen to her precious "carrot-top" boy. Of course, I never found out exactly how she died, though I expect it was complications from the birth of another _hanyou_ child so soon. No, I had to learn about it from a mob of angry villagers claiming that a tiny demon had cast an evil spell on one of their own, for they had found it in her room sitting right on top of her. Thankfully, their own ignorance meant that they just "exorcised" the demon from the room and sent it into the forest just over a day ago. From that time on, no "demon" – as we came to be called – were welcome in that village.

Jien, I think you were the only one who was glad to meet Gojyo when I first brought him back to our village. Your mother, on the other hand, was positively furious. The only reason she calmed down was by threat of dismissal – she could not deny that Gojyo had a place in my household as one of my sons, because that was the rule of our village: sons lived with their fathers and married females went to live with their husbands. It also meant that you, Gojyo, could be the one to help her gather fruit from the forest while I trained you, Jien, in the ways of a man – namely swordsmanship. That reassured your mother, Jien, that her son was still my heir and that gave her a vested interest in helping to raise you, Gojyo.

Then, one year, something happened to the humans' fields and herd animals. Of course, that didn't affect we water _youkai_, being fishers, and, of course, that meant that we were to blame – in the humans' eyes – for their troubles. I can't blame them for attacking us, but I **can** blame them for their own stupidity.

They expected to break the morale of the village's defenders by slaying their chief and damn-it-all if it worked. No sooner had I fallen than the other _youkai_ fled, not even bothering to take their belongings with them.

Victorious, the humans left the village, not bothering to search for survivors. It was you, Jien, who took charge like a man and hid your family well enough that the three of you managed to live another day. I couldn't be prouder of you, my eldest.

That's why, even after those cowards abandoned their own homes, I swore to always protect my village – my family – while one of my blood resided there. After all, one "ghost" keeps pesky humans away far better than any number of mortal _youkai_ ever could.

(-)(-)(-)

_**-to be continued-**_

_10/15/2007_

_(1) Bridewealth_ _- the money or goods given to the family of a bride by the bridegroom or his family (dictionary-dot-com). Basically, the husband pays the wife's family for taking her away from their household. In this_ youkai _village, women who do not produce sons can be returned to their family (with the woman's daughters) in exchange for the bridewealth paid upon marriage. (Also known as_ "bride price"; _the exact opposite of a dowry.)_

_The perfect song for Jien's mother – or just "Mom" as the boys call her – is _"No Son of Mine" _by Genesis (Turn It On Again – The Hits, Tour Version) and I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Hopefully, the 'house of cards' analogy hasn't been lost on anyone. In case you didn't guess it, the speaker is indeed Gojyo and Jien's father. Take him out of the picture and… Unfortunately, I can't promise the next chapter any time soon; it all depends on how many plotkappas attack me while I attempt to study for my midterms._

_I also blame a lot of material from this chapter on my Anthropology major. Somehow, their father's _youkai _village managed to be foragers, patrilineal, patrilocal, and even polygamous. Then there's the humans – they're agriculturalists… and that's about it. Oh, except that they're incredibly superstitious._

_Nekochan_

Plotkappas© ASeptemberRose aka Saruzake. Used with permission.


	2. Our Father

_House of Cards_  
_Chapter Two: Our Father_

_A Story for the _Smoke Signals_ Thread_

By Nekochan

**Author's Note**

_Here comes part two! I'd always thought the whole story should be told from the first-person perspective, but could never decide on a specific person, so I decided to __**not**__ decide on just one. (Laughs)_

_Arigatou Minasan! (Thanks everyone!)_

_Nekochan_

(-)(-)(-)

I didn't use to remember my childhood. Maybe I've been seeking out fonder memories to replace the most recent ones, 'cuz none-a' them are any good at all. Hell, it could be to forget that I got left alone in this village… Well, okay, so I told the brat to leave, but that was for his own good, after all.

I can remember very clearly the day that you brought a redheaded runt home with you, but I think I have a few memories older than that coming back to me.

The new house… that was nice, never having to worry about rain or wind again, except to replace the thatched roof, and the warm bed that I got all to myself in a room separate from yours and Mom's. I think I even had a pet lizard for awhile… maybe. Like I said, Dad, those memories are pretty fuzzy.

I knew that you and Mom fought about the kid, but I couldn't understand why – you called him your son, so that made him my brother, right? That was all that mattered to us in that little village – fathers and sons stuck together, no matter what, so that meant brothers too. I don't remember when I figured out that we had different mothers. It pro'lly wasn't until after you died.

You were one hell of a fighter, though, Dad. Even as I watched those bastards attacking you, I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride that you took down twenty-three by yourself – it was that twenty-fourth that took you out. Would you believe I memorized the guy's face so I could take him out for ya' later on? Did it too, Dad. The idiot came back about a month later to get a trophy of his kill, but hell if I'd let him desecrate your grave. That made me feel pretty good, since I summoned a replica of your sword and that scared the **shit** out of the guy. A part of me still believes it's really your sword and not a replica. Pretty childish, huh?

I hope you're happy with the grave, Dad. It took some time and human coin, but I eventually got a priest – or monk, never could tell – from a nearby temple to perform last rites where you fell. Poor Mom… I think that was when it really started sinking in that you weren't comin' back – that things would never be the same. I know Gojyo could tell it was somethin' serious too, 'cuz he just kept starin' up at the priest and his '_yueyachan_' (1) or whatever that thing was that he used to bury your body.

It wasn't easy, Dad, but I tried to remember everything you'd ever taught me about fishin' and I think I did pretty good for supporting three people. Sometimes I had to take Gojyo with me, though, 'cuz… I know you know how Mom got about him when you weren't around, so I'm sure you can imagine what it was like after you died.

If it's okay with you, I'd like to get away from here for awhile. Not too long – just long enough to clear my head and do some thinkin'. I hope yer not offended or nothin'. I promise I'll come back. You can protect the village that long, cantcha' Dad? I know yer still around or the humans woulda' run me out years ago.

Catcha' later, Dad.

(-)

"Who goes there?"

I spun around and summoned my sword, fully expecting to get attacked for the meat I just finished cleaning. But I didn't. I narrowed my eyes and focused as a _youkai_ with a **huge** aura came outta' the bush with a contingent of eight guards in chain armor with spears. The guy had long auburn hair and a dark, open coat, but no weapons out.

"I asked you a question, stranger. Tell me who you are and whom you serve."

I looked at him in confusion. "I serve no one but my father, sir," I answered, being polite just in case.

"Not the Demon-King Hyakugan?" He asked.

"I can say with honesty that I do not know who that is," I replied, still very hesitant.

"Liar!" One of the guards shouted and rushed forward to attack me, but the guy stopped him with an outstretched arm.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No, sir."

"Sire, he lies! Everyone knows that-"

"Hear me out, stranger," the powerful _youkai_ insisted, lowering his arm and making the guard stand at ease. "Five hundred years ago, the Demon-King Gyuu ruled these lands – from the near side of the Chang River to the far side, all of it was his domain. Now, the so-called Demon-King Hyakugan has laid claim to this Changsha area and it is my intention to take it back from him. You seem strong and competent and apparently you are without a liege. Serve me and I will put your skills to work as one of my Honor Guard."

_How does he know Dad's name? _I wondered. "And you are?"

"The Demon-King Gyuu's son, Kougaiji."

I wanted to jump at the opportunity to do something with my life again, but I had made a promise to my father to return to the village. I also didn't want to tell this Kougaiji guy who I was for fear of betraying my father for another master at my fancy – I had to ask permission first. "May I think about your offer, Lord Kougaiji?"

"As you wish. Be warned, within a year anyone who is not a member of the Gyuu clan will be considered my enemy." Kougaiji pointed off to the west. "Houtou Castle, my residence, is in that direction. If you choose to serve me, go there and tell the gatekeeper I sent for you. He'll bring you to me."

I dismissed my sword and went to kneel before him. "I assure you, Lord Kougaiji, I will come to serve you as soon as I am able. There are a few things I must take care of and then I will go to your castle to seek you out."

I think he smiled at me then, but I'm not sure. "I look forward to it. Take a _hiryu_ then – you'll need it to cross the distance if you don't want to be walking for the next eight years." (2)

(-)

I'm sorry I left, Dad. I think you would rather I stick around and tried to rebuild the village, but I realized something after I was left alone: I need someone to dedicate my life too. I've already failed you, and Mom, and then Gojyo… Even when Mom was still alive, I couldn't bring myself to comfort him 'cuz I was too afraid I'd hurt him the process. That's why I had to stop sleeping in my own bed and left it to Gojyo instead; I couldn't trust myself anymore… I…

The real reason I came back here is I need your forgiveness, Dad. I killed your wife – my mother – to protect your son. I wish I'd never had to make that decision, but I did, because I thought that's what you would have done. I can't count the number of times I can remember you reprimanding Mom for slighting Gojyo at mealtimes, or letting him wander too far from the village, or get too close to the river… You defended him. If I hadn't known he was my brother, I might have gotten jealous.

The truth is I'm trying to move on. I'll never forget what happened, but there's this local lord who thinks I can be a good bodyguard for him. Just stumbled into the guy one day and he offered me a job! Me, dirty and bloody from months on end in the forest, and he wanted to give me a job! Here's the weird thing, Dad, he called this the "Changsha area" and knew the river's name was Chang. Man, I never thought I'd hear someone else say "Chang-sha" ever again, not since you became "Chief Sha" and we took your given name as a prefix. It took some getting used to, but I really came to like "Sha-jien" instead of just plain ol' Jien and "Sha-gojyo" really made it feel like we were _brothers_, ya' know? No matter what Mom said… (3)

The thing is, I knew I was still a wreck inside and so I decided to go get my shit together before accepting that Kougaiji guy's offer. He reminds me of you, Dad, and of Gojyo, an' I don't know why, but maybe I'll find out while I work for him.

There's something else though… I want to hold on to the memories of you, but after what happened with Mom… I want to give up my name, Dad, no matter how much I came to like it. I tried waitin' a year or two before givin' it a go with some females again, but it just didn't work. I don't know if I'll ever get over it. I don't want to disgrace you by being barren of children, Dad, so I'd rather just assume that Sha-jien is dead. Maybe Gojyo can do you proud in my stead. I just feel like the honor of your name died with you… is that wrong of me? Please, Dad, I need an answer. Please.

Here, I'll even cut my ponytail and leave it on your grave, to prove to you how serious I am. (4) If you can just help me with this last thing, I'll be able to face my new liege with sincerity…

(-)

"By the power vested in me as the heir of Demon-King Gyuu, I welcome you to the Gyuu Clan and to my Honor Guard. Now rise…" Kougaiji paused to extend his hand to the _youkai_ man kneeling before him. "Gyuu Dokugakuji. Now we will have the strength to take back my father's lost territories!"

I smiled up at my new lord as a few of the other guards clapped for me, some shouting and cheering. "Thank you, sire." I took his hand and stood up. I summoned my sword – pointing downward, so they wouldn't think I was attacking Lord Kougaiji. "This sword will defend you until I breathe my last."

Kougaiji blinked and squinted at the sword. "That isn't the same sword you had when we first met, is it?"

"Well, yes sir."

"It has a much more powerful aura now. Or… is it cursed?"

"Actually, sir… It was my father's."

"Ah, then it's his spirit that I sense." Lord Kougaiji seemed satisfied with his own assessment and looked around me. "Would you see your new coworker to his chambers, Yaone?"

I followed Lord Kougaiji's line of vision. A _youkai_ female with purple hair was bowing towards him.

"Of course, Lord Kougaiji."

_Well Dad…_ I sighed and started to follow the lady called Yaone. _I guess this is my new home. How do you like Lord Kougaiji? I thought you'd approve of him. Get some rest now, Dad, I'm sure I'll need you soon enough for practice or something._

The eye on my sword blinked before I dismissed it with a clench of my hand.

(-)(-)(-)

_**-to be continued-**_

_10/19-25/2007_

_(1) Yueyachan – a staff with a crescent-shaped blade at one end and a shovel-like blade at the other end, plus rings near the shovel end. In other words, Gojyo's weapon but without the linked chain and no rings. Priests carried them to bury dead with the shovel end - the rings showed that their purpose was of a holy nature._

_(2) It took Xuanzang, the historical figure that inspired the story of Tripitaka / Sanzo and the original Saiyuki, a grand total of eight years to travel from inner China to inner India._

_(3) This is similar to the phenomenon of Leaf Erikson and other names ending in "son" – Erikson means "Son of Erik". Instead of being a suffix, a syllable attached to the end of the father's name, Gojyo and Jien's father's village's custom was to use a prefix (hint hint: it's not uncommon in Asia to do so, but I'm using the dash to make it more evident). It is here implied that their father's true name is "Sha", but that _his_ father's name was Chang, or their grandfather's name, resulting in the name Chang-sha. When Chang-sha became Chief, he started his own lineage as "Chief Sha", dropping his own father's name, but bestowing it upon his children: Jien became Sha-jien and, when Gojyo was adopted into the village, was called Sha-gojyo, symbolizing his status as Chief Sha's son. The things I do for a semblance of reality and plothole-filling, honestly…_

_(4) In some traditional societies, men's age – and thus rank in society – was judged by how long their hair was because hair growth didn't lie about how long someone's been around. Sometimes the ultimate punishment was cutting a person's hair, often right before they were exiled from the society._

_Jien's story has got to be the worst in my opinion and I'm talking about the manga, here, folks. I know the Ikkou had it rough, but nothing comes close to Jien in my book, thus I why I tried to give him some credit here. Also, look for some rewards for the poor guy in the future. The last chapter will be the true plot-hole-filler, so please watch for it!_

_I'm sorry if "Demon-Lord Gyuu" and "Demon-Lord Hyakugan" bothered you (instead of Gyuu-maoh and Hyakugan-maoh), but I did that so I could make the whole "clan" thing clearer and give Doku his new family name for a good reason. It's the same reason the boys' father is Chief Sha and not Sha-cho, but also because "shacho" sounds like the Japanese word for "President (of a company)". Haha._

_In case you're curious, Changsha is a real city in modern-day China, the capital of Hunan Province, which is southeast of Xi'an (modern-day Chang'an). "The Changsha area" is my term for the territory that Chief Sha once controlled (basically Hunan province extending to the Chang River) and that Hyakugan-maoh now controls. Basically, I'm much more convinced of adult Jien's ability to cross a very large stretch of land than adolescent Gojyo; young Gojyo would have had to travel 600km (over 300 miles) in the span of a few years, whereas Jien had to travel the span of the entire Chinese countryside in the same time frame – thus why I gave him the dragon from Kou. (Laughs)_

_Yes, we blame my Anthropology major yet again – especially since I just found out about "The Show-off Theory" today in class: successful hunters often have more surviving children, including extramarital affairs. So, yeah, that's Chang-sha in a nutshell, huh? Must be where Gojyo learned it from._

_Nekochan_

Japanese dictionary

Hiryu – flying dragon; the dragons used by the Kou-tachi in Saiyuki as mounts


	3. My Brother

_House of Cards_  
_Chapter Three: My Brother_

_A Story for the _Smoke Signals_ Thread_

By Nekochan

**Author's Note**

_And we have arrived at the final chapter, what I call "the plothole-filler chapter", though last chapter managed a good deal of that too I suppose. This was just the kernel of thought that prompted the whole story, so I've always been rather attached to it._

_Arigatou Minasan! (Thanks everyone!)_

_Nekochan_

(-)(-)(-)

_Stupid-head _aniki, I grumble to myself as I let loose the crescent-moon side with the chain towards a tree. I don't hit my target – a low branch – but at least I didn't miss the tree entirely this time. _Runnin' me outta' th' village like that – now I gotta' get my own food- _I yank on the chain, but the crescent won't come out. _My own __**place**__-_ I yank again, getting a little upset now. _My own- _"AH!"

I fall backwards to the ground, the chain coming straight back at me, so I cover my head out of instinct. The crescent comes swinging back and slices my right upper arm.

"OW!" I scream as the stinging begins. I press my thumb against it, lick the blood off, then press again.

My butt hurts, my arm hurts, I suck with my _shakujou_, and to top it all off I'm hungry.

It's all Jien's fault, dangitall… Why'd I hafta' leave anyway? Not like he gave me a lotta' money or food or anythin' … how th' heck am I s'possed ta'… ta'…

I try to keep from crying. I hate crying – anyone crying, for that matter.

Stupid Jien… coulda' at least given me a few more pointers on th' whole huntin' thing… Never thought I'd actually hafta' kill anythin' with this thing… 'S all aniki's fault…

(-)

"_Aniki_! _Aniki_!"

He turned around and shifted the net on his left shoulder as it started to fall off. He could tell I was running up for a hug, so he dropped the basket in his right hand at his feet. As I slammed into him, wrapping my arms around his waist, he ruffled my hair and chuckled, "Yo, Gojyo, comin' fishin' today?"

"Nope!" I smiled with that I-know-something-you-don't-know look. " 'Cuz _aniki_ **promised** he'd teach me ta' **fight** t'day!"

"Well, yeah, I did, but-"

"NOW!" I pouted, burying my face in his shirt. "C'mon…"

I heard him sigh. "Sha-gojyo, you **know** I have to go fishing each morning or we don't have **anything** to eat."

"MEANIE!" I yelled & pulled away. "MEANIE!" I repeated, stamping my foot, tears welling up. I noticed the basket again and lunged for it, then started running away. I wasn't even sure which direction it was – away from the house, towards the house, towards the forest… I just know that I didn't care.

I heard him drop the net and come chasing after me. "GOJYO! Hey, Gojyo, come on, that's not funny! RYAH!" He tackled me from behind and the basket went rolling out of my hands.

"You **promised**, _aniki_! You promised, you promised, you PROMISED!" I cried as I kicked & tried to get out of his grip.

"Gojyo, just- GOJYO!" He pinned me to the ground by my arms with his hands and sat on my legs. "Look, you need to listen to me- LISTEN!"

"NO! I DON' WANNA' JUS' SIT AROUND ALL DAY! I wanna' **do** somethin' an' yesterday you **promised** you'd teach me how ta' get a weapon like yers an' Dad's an' practice with me an' now yer just a LIAR! A STUPID, STUPID **LIAR**, _ANIKI_!" I thrashed some more, whimpering.

"Come on, Gojyo… Don't be like that… Just-" he sighed again, "Just go back t' Mom, okay?"

"Mom didn't like the flowers I picked for her…" I mumbled, looking away. "She never likes anythin' I bring her… I'm **bored**, _aniki_!"

Jien frowned at me. "You can't possibly tell me you can't find a single thing to do while I'm fishing?"

"Wannabewif_aniki_..."

"Sorry, what was that?" Jien leaned closer to me, listening for my reply.

"I wanna' be with **you**, _aniki_… Mom's been actin' funny…"

"I know, I know." He got off me and held out a hand to help me up. "Look, Gojyo, how about this…" He walked over and picked up the basket. "If you help me catch a whole **bunch** of fish, then we get to spend the rest of the morning 'til lunch practicing summoning a weapon."

I sniffed as he handed me the basket. "Really?"

"Yep. If we catch a lotta' fish – an' **fast** – then that's a lot more time we getta' spend workin' on your weapon-summonin'."

I smiled and wiped the rest of the tears from my face. " 'Kay."

(-)

I think it took us a few hours, but I would've never known it at the time. Once we reached the river, _aniki_ attached the net to some rocks and the two of us chased schools downstream so they got caught up in it. I don't think I ever had so much fun splashing water around as that morning when I learned how _aniki_ had been "fishing" for us all by himself.

(-)

"All right, Gojyo, watch me again…" Jien said as he dismissed his sword. "All you gotta' do is clench your hand real tight, concentrate on the kind-a' weapon you want – picture it in your mind, and then imagine it in your hand…" He clenched his right hand into a fist and the sword reappeared.

I remember trying at least four or five times to imagine a sword like _aniki_'s in my hand before I got upset and stamped my foot again. "Why can't I do it?" I pouted. "Bet it's 'cuz you got a sword like Dad's an' I can't have one too."

Jien arched one of his eyebrows. "You've only been trying to imagine a sword, Gojyo?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Not every _youkai_ can summon a sword, Gojyo. You should try a dagger, or a club, or a staff… Something different each time. Is there something you really wanna' use?"

"Uh…" I thought really, really hard before remembering the coolest weapon I'd ever seen – the day we said goodbye to Dad, the guy who came had it. "Yeah! I got one!"

"Okay, go ahead and try again."

I stood up and clenched both fists as I bent my knees and concentrated as hard as I could, picturing the weapon in my hands.

Then, there was a bit of a humming noise and some light bright enough I could tell it was there through my eyelids.

"YOU DID IT! Gojyo, you…" Jien trailed off. "You didn't…"

"YAY! I DID IT, I DID IT! IDIDITIDIDITIDIDIT!" I jumped up and down, both hands in the air and clenching my weapon tightly. "YAY!"

"Gojyo, why the **heck** didja' summon a- a…" he scratched his head, trying to remember its name. "What'd that guy call it… a _yueyachan_ I think?"

" 'S not that, 'cuz mine's cooler!" I pulled the crescent-moon side off with my right hand – it was only barely over my head with the shovel on the ground – to show off the chain. "See? Neat huh!"

"What the- So… you made a- a… _getsu_- _gegga-_" (1)

"It's a _shakujou_."

"What? No, it's not! A _shakujou_ doesn't have two blades and a chain-"

"So? It's **my** weapon an' I say it's a _shakujou_."

Jien didn't look convinced. Finally, he sighed. "No matter what you call it, I don't think you can actually wield that thing. How do you plan to fight with it?"

I grinned and pointed the shovel at him, still holding the crescent in my right hand. "Let's find out!"

"Not so fast, kiddo," Jien insisted as he held up a hand. "First you'd better make sure you can summon that thing consistently."

"Huh?"

"Ya' gotta' be able t' make it go away an' bring it back the same way each time."

" 'Kay!" I laughed and gripped my _shakujou_ tightly, before looking down at it, 'cuz I wasn't sure what I s'posed t' do with it. "Uh… How d'ya make it go away?"

"Ya' know how ya' concentrated on it so it appeared in yer hands?"

I nodded.

"Don't think about it so hard an' it'll go away on its own."

"Oh." I tried opening my palms flat an' staring at it. _Go away_, I thought, but it didn't. I closed my eyes an' though about my hands bein' empty. As I opened them, I heard something like th' sound of a soft wind blowing in my ears – my _shakujou_ was gone.

"Good, good. Now, can ya' bring it back?" Jien held out his right hand, the sword at shoulder-level an' pointin' to his left side.

"Sure can!" I shouted, then grinned an' held out my right hand too. I made a ball with my fist, but my _shakujou_ wouldn't come back.

Jien looked as confused as me. "What's wrong?"

"Iydunno."

"Well, you could do it with both hands… Oh shit..." Jien put his left palm flat against his face and grumbled, "Gojyo, try it with just your left hand."

"Why?"

"Just- please, try it."

So, I held out my left hand an' thought about my awesome _shakujou_. I was real excited when that hum and bright light happened again. "SWEET!" I put my right hand on the staff part and started swinging it around a bit.

Jien looked furious, though. "Damnit, Gojyo- you- _baka!_"

"Wha' th'- what'd I do?"

He started yelling at me, "Not only didya' have-ta' summon a freakin' _weird_ weapon, yer LEFT-HANDED too!"

"Why th' heck d'**you** care?" I growled.

" 'Cuz **I'm** the one who's gonna' hafta' **train** ya', moron!" He shouted back.

"I'M NOT A MORON!" I ran at _aniki_ with my _shakujou_, but all he did was step to the side and knock me on the back of my head with the bottom of the sword – hard, 'cuz I fell down. I turned over onto my back, rubbing the back of my head.

"Lesson number one, bro," Jien said as he crouched low t' look me in th' eyes. "When yer fightin', think about th' fight, not anythin' else." He offered me a hand up.

I was still mad at him for doing that, but I sort of understood what he meant. So, I took his hand and we kept sparring.

From that day on, we began a routine – we fished in the early morning, then it was playtime. Most of the time we summoned our weapons an' sparred. Sometimes we'd just play tag or something.

It was all that time playing that helped me figure out what kind of moves I could do with my _shakujou_. Some of 'em, _aniki_ came up with and told me, but sometimes I just came up with something all on my own – it was so cool when it was those moves that helped me win.

Maybe that's why the time started flying by so fast. I know it had to be about six or seven years that Jien and I sparred like that, but…

(-)

I miss those days, because it really was just like we played every single day, just _aniki_ and me. Looking back at the village I couldn't stay in – because no tavern would accept the word or coin of a "taboo child", whatever that meant – I actually started missing home. It was never home 'cuz my mom was there or 'cuz it was my dad's village – I barely remember him at all – but the one person who cared about me, _aniki_… **he**'s there. At least, he might still be there… maybe he left too.

I saw the sun dipping below the horizon and let out a sigh – I've slept in the forest before, but that was because I got lost in it. _Aniki_ found me that following morning, carried me home, and I slept most of the next day in my warm, comfortable bed.

I start looking for deadfall wood to make a fire, then remember it's nearing the end of summer – when it starts getting a little cold. I stand up an' clutch my _shakujou_ tightly, then loosely so it disappears. I fix my eyes on the village again an' gather my courage – I know I'm going to have to steal a blanket if I'm going to make it through the night.

I walk up to the edge of the village before I start ducking into the shadows wherever I can find them. I spy a long, wide blanket hanging on a clothesline and hesitantly reach out for it. As I grip the soft fabric in my hand, I get the sinking feeling, in the deepest pit of my stomach, that this won't be the last thing I have to steal just to stay alive.

(-)(-)(-)

_**-owari-**_

_10/19-11/12/2007_

_(1) Here, Jien is attempting to make a compound word out of the Japanese pronunciation of the characters for _yueyachan _[Chinese pronunciation_ _(crescent-moon, teeth, blade) and _kusari _(chain) as in kusari-gama (chained _kama_; a weapon used by _ninja_), but Gojyo cuts him off. The readings that Jien is trying to pronounce include the following: _Getsu/gatsu - ga/ge - san/sen - ren/ten. _Thus, I have him shooting for "Geggasenden" as one option for a "Japanese" pronounciation_. _For those who care, I used the _ON _(Chinese-originating) readings because the _yueyachan_ is Chinese in origin._

_Yay! Thanks for reading the whole thing! (Smiles) Yep, one day ASeptemberRose and I were just sitting around chatting when a little plotkappa© came bounding up to me and insisted that only little kid Gojyo could have gotten away with summoning something resembling a _yueyachan _but calling it a _shakujou_. Go figure, huh?_

_Oh and if you notice, Gojyo couldn't summon anything with his right hand alone; Jien assumed that Gojyo was right handed like himself. This happened to my younger sister, Jesimidi, where it wasn't until 1st grade that we realized she was left-handed, because her teacher realized she was writing her S's backwards. By then, she'd already learned to do so many things with her right hand that she's sort of ambidextrous now._

_Lastly, there's a change in tense in this story – completely out of the ordinary for me; normally, I despise the present tense when it comes to storytelling. However, I felt that I had to have a way of showing that the 'storyteller' in the middle section was teenage Gojyo, not adult Gojyo, and in particular using Gojyo's mentality right after he and Jien parted ways. I chose to include 'childhood-slurring' for added emphasis._

_Nekochan_

Japanese Dictionary

Aniki – older brother; very informal / close

Shakujou – literally just "staff"

Yueyachan – the priest's staff mentioned in the previous chapter

Baka – silly idiot

Plotkappas© ASeptemberRose aka Saruzake. Used with permission.

(It's a joke, people. She invented the word, yes, but feel free to use it!)


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